America has a certain mold for education by which citizens have abided to for decades. The mold requires students to go to school Monday to Friday for eight hours a day. Students are also required to focus on the core subjects that consist of Math, English, Science and History. Americans are conditioned to believe that if they abide by this mold they will become successful Americans. Although this system has been used for decades, to have a better understanding of the results this education is producing these four questions need to be answered:
1. What is the current state of the American education system?
2. What has contributed to the current state of the American education system?
3. What are the consequences of the current American education system?
4. What policies have been proposed to improve the American education system?
By answering these questions there is a better understanding of how the American education system operates, the nation may be able to make necessary improvements, if any.
What is the current state of the American education system?
There are several factors that can determine the current state of the American system such as test scores, graduation rates, and the continuation of education. In a news report by Ellis and Curry (2009), standardized test scores reveal that “61% of 4th graders and 66% of 8th graders are not proficient in math.” In a different report, Ellis and Williams (2011) presented information which showed that seventeen year-olds were tested, the test results showed that “seventeen year-olds in reading and math have not improved.” The reading level of seventeen year-olds has remained the same for the past twenty years. Test scores may affect the graduation rate of the country.High school graduation rates in America are gradually improving. According to an article in U.S. News by Powell and Lake (2013), the scores have risen from “71.7 percent in 2001 to 78.2 percent in 2010.” This information means that “nearly 1.1 million fewer students were trapped in ‘dropout factories.’” At this rate the high school graduation rate is expected to rise up to 90% by 2020 (Powell & Lake, 2013). Since graduation rates are on the rise, students may be more encouraged to obtain a college degree.
College enrollment rates are also on the rise. According to the National Center for Education Center, college enrollment has “increased by 11 percent between 1990 and 2000.” The increase has risen in several ethnicities as well as the female population. Counselors strongly encourage students to attend college to secure a happy future. Since this thought is widespread amongst Americans, college enrollment is rapidly rising.
What has contributed to the current state of the American education system?
There are several factors that have contributed to current state of the American. Involvement from parents may promote better grades and the child may be more motivated to learn. The author conducted a survey which would reveal a correlation between encouragement and the pursuit of higher education; a limitation to the survey is that only El Paso participants contributed rather than nationwide. All of the participants attended public school, so this survey is a direct reflection of how the American education systems promote higher education. All participants also indicated that they went to college after high school however some participants have not graduated and do not plan on returning. About 73 percent of participants felt as though they weren’t well prepared for college and about 82 percent felt they weren’t given enough information about college by their counselors. Only 27 percent felt as though parents were highly involved.The survey indicates that while students are encouraged to go college but are not given the necessary tools to succeed in higher education. So students eagerly pursue a higher education but are not able to keep up with the rigor of the courses. Parents want to see their children go to college because they want them to be successful but do not focus on preparing their children.
What are the consequences of the current American education system?
Education has become a priority in amongst America’s young adults. Although education can be expensive, most Americans see it as “worthy of [the] debt” (Cohn & Williams, 2010). According to the news report by Cohn and Williams (2010), the cost of education is rapidly rising and “America’s student debt is approaching $880 billion.” Students believe that since the jobs they obtain will be high-paying due to their degree, they will be able to easily pay off their debt after graduating. However, they may face a different reality once graduating. According to a news report by Ellis and Snow (2011), “the job market for college graduates is brutal.” This leaves “a quarter million recent grads unemployed” and prospective students questioning whether the hefty student debt is worth it (Ellis & Snow, 2011).Some families may find the price tag of college worthwhile, while other “families are limiting their college choices because of financial reasons” (Ellis & Williams, 2008). Funding for public institutions has also become scarce as “at least 21 states have cut funding to their public colleges” (Ellis & Williams, 2008). These cuts are reflected in the price of tuition which may be discouraging to students who would like to pursue higher education.
What policies have been proposed to improve the American education system?
Some Americans find the incorporation of technology into classrooms important to enhance learning while others feel that learning should be more traditional and use technology sparingly. The teachers at Forest Lake Technology Magnet School view “technology as part of a necessary evolution” (Holt, 2010). The curriculum relies heavily on technology; students participate in class by using interactive clickers. By using clickers, the teachers can see how each student is progressing which can help teachers help their students understand the curriculum. “All 50 states now include computer technology as part of their curriculum standards,” which allows students stay current with technology along with being marketable in the job market. Kappy Cannon, principle of Forest Lake Technology Magnet school, firmly believes that educators can’t “teach the same way [they] did in 1957” because they feel as though technology enables the students rather than disable them.Educators at the Waldorf School disagree and believe that technology disables students rather than enable them. The Waldorf School does not incorporate any technology into their curriculum because they feel as though “high-tech and learning don’t mix.” The educators believe that if the students are interacting and actively engaging in the classroom, their capacity for grasping the material is significantly greater. Since “the Waldorf method is almost 100 years old, parents who enroll their children in this program are guaranteed results. The Waldorf School has extremely high graduating rate of “nearly 100%” whereas the rest of the country averages at 70.5 % and some parts of the country much lower as seen in the figure below. The figure below is graph showing graduation rates throughout the nation. The light blue regions show the lowest graduation rates whereas the darkest shade of blue indicate the highest education rates (Public High School Graduation Rates, 2009).
Conclusion
There are several aspects to the American education such as how to measure success. Some measure the success by the amount of graduation rates or pursuit of higher education while others measure success by the scores of standardized scores. Since graduation rates are up, college enrollment is also rising meaning the amount of student loan debt has risen nationwide. Families have to carefully thinking which school to send their student to because of financial reasons. The Waldorf School and Forest Technology Magnet School have proposed two very different methods to improve graduation rates and better prepare students for college.
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